The science behind the Jedi lightsaber: How far are we from making our own? – Australian Science

Following the explosive success of The Force Awakens, interest in all things Jedi has reached its peak. And perhaps no item evokes the film’s immersive world more than the Jedi’s lightsaber. It’s no surprise that many of us wonder: how far are we from having our own opinions?

According to this animated infographic, we’ve already reached 75%, but the last 25% still seems out of reach. Let’s find out how close we are to protecting our galaxy with this “elegant weapon for a more civilized age.”

Is that a lightsaber for sure?
Yes, most of us can probably imagine a Jedi wielding a lightsaber without much difficulty. But if we’re going to delve into replicating them in the real world, we need to understand exactly what they’re supposed to be made of in the movies and what they’re capable of.

First, it’s easy to see that they are incredibly powerful. They easily cut through hard pieces of metal and cut through flesh, but the temperature of the handle is controlled so as not to harm the user. The laser itself can also be “turned off” with the press of a button, allowing the Jedi to holster his weapon.

Overall, this is an incredibly flexible weapon that, when combined with the power of a Jedi, is a force (no pun intended!) to be reckoned with. However, science turns out to be a worthy adversary, preventing Lucas’s myth from becoming a reality.

Stopping the beam
The lightsaber appears to use some kind of lasers, however in our world they are invisible until the end point and also do not have a fixed length. We are a long way from developing technology that can stop a laser beam. Light needs to hit something hard to stop, or it needs to be refracted by a mirror.

Conclusion? It seems incredible that we will ever be able to use lasers in their current form to create something like this. The beam of laser light will simply continue exponentially and will not be displayed until it reaches its natural end – just think of the classic laser pointer as an example.

Search for an energy source
While we currently have many options for enhancing an item that emits light or plasma of this power, there is one “minor” problem. Contrary to what a lightsaber suggests (such as a small battery pack), reality requires something more extensive.

We are left with a weapon that may only last a few seconds, or a bulky and heavy object that cannot be used as anything like a sword. The familiar lightsaber noise also comes from the power source, as plasma or light does not naturally make that sound.

Light has no mass
Another problem we face is that light has no mass. A lightsaber is more powerful than any sword or axe, but light has no properties that would allow such behavior.

Consider the fact that light is not even capable of reflecting other light, but in Return of the Jedi we clearly see Luke defeating his enemies by deflecting blaster shots. Unfortunately, our own laws of physics now allow this. You can imagine how weak a lightsaber duel would look if the two weapons simply walked around each other!

The films themselves are also not entirely consistent. In the original trilogies, the weapon’s weight resembles that of a longsword (hence the slow and brooding fighting style), but in the prequels the weapon is “upgraded” to become a lightweight fencing tool. Regardless of what it actually is, the light itself will weigh less than both.

What about plasma?
GE engineer Matt Glusenkamp said the closest real-life example of what a lightsaber is made of is electrically generated plasma. The problem with using plasma in this way is that the battery power required to create that amount of electricity would render the weapon unusable.

Another problem is the high temperature of the plasma. The lightsaber is supposed to reach four digits Fahrenheit, but all our heroes need is a comfortable hilt that can apparently withstand those temperatures.

Unfortunately, at the moment we do not have the material on which something similar could be done. Not only that, but the plasma also emits heat, meaning that anything even a few inches away from the lightsaber will be charred beyond recognition!

New results
While Time magazine sensationally reported that the legendary Jedi weapon had finally become a reality, the headline was unfortunately closer to clickbait than anything else. However, the findings of scientists from Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are indeed promising.

Teams of physicists worked together to bind photons that could be said to behave similarly to what we would expect from Skywalker’s weapon of choice. Through other experiments, scientists noticed that photons released through rubidium atoms behaved in a unique way.

Unlike massless particles, which do not interact with other molecules, in this case they will form together and move uniformly. This effect is essentially what a lightsaber suggests, perhaps forming the basis for future designs.

However, what we currently have is still far from a working model. Although the particles do interact in a completely new way, it is still a simple interaction. There’s a lot of work to be done before we have our own versions of Luke and Obi-Wan defending law and order. Considering how impossible such behavior seemed just a few years ago, Star Wars fans can remain hopeful.

We haven’t reached that goal yet, but technological advances in recent years make it feel like the lightsaber is just around the corner. However, the obstacles presented may still be a bridge too far, and it may be several generations before we can replicate what they accomplished long ago in a galaxy far, far away.